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y R. T. SMITHl WHEEL FOB VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 24, I9I8 Patented Jim. 3, 1922.

l l i ROBERT THOMNJ 5M/T En/ Tr/mrs .y

UNTTE STATES RQBERT SMITH, OF WARRINGTON, ENG-LAND.

WHEEL FOB VEHICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

niPatented Jan. 3, 1922.

Application filed June 24, 1918. Serial No. 241,679.

(GRANTED 'UNDER PRDVISIONS 0F THE ACT 0F MARCH 3, 1921, 41 STAT. L.,1313.)

.To oil whom it may @Ormel/vt.'

lle it lrnown that lf, Renner TnoMAs limiti-r, a subject et the liinp;ot Great Brit ain, residir lll llovely liano, lliarringr ton, in thecounty oit Lancaster, England, have invented new and useful improvementsin qWheels :tor Vehicles, (for which l'. have tiled an application inGreat Britain Aug. 2G, 191C, Patent Number 106,385,) ot which theliollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to wheels tor vehicles, using tyres (especiallytyres commercially lrnown as band tyres) 'which are detachable, theobject et this invention being to overcome certain detects in suchwheclsas hitherto constructed by enablingl the tyres to be applied to thewheels without the ne- .f-essity `for the power presses which havehitherto been necessary, this invention also ena ling the wheels to bemade ot pressed steel and rendering it unnecessary to use rivets, orwelding, although they may ot course he used it desired.

.ilccoiwjlinggf,- to this invention the periphery, or rim, ot the wheel.is separate 'from the vbcol-body and is made expansible, and,ontractablm and is expanded into the inor ci? the tyre by movement ofthe parts oi the wheeldaody with such torce as to se curely hold thetyre, whilst by opposite movement et the part of the wheel-body the tyrecan be readily released.

l will describe, with reference to the accompanying drawings, manners inwhich this invention can be performed presuming it to be applied to awheel fitted with an ordinary band tyre. Figure l is a transversesection, and Figure Q; a side elevation, of part ot a wheel and. themetal base ot its tyre connected in accordance with this invention. Theother figures shew modifications, as hereinafter explained. Tn theseveral 'iigures have not shown the complete tyre but only the metalbase to 1ininp,` the inner part ot the band tyre to which the outerpart, or tread ot the tyre, is attached, and this may be et anyordinary, or suitable, ltiii lleterring` to Figures l. and 2; the rim l,ot the wheel is split at 2, and is made with inclines 3, inwards and theperipheral parts ot the members 5, ot the body ot' the wheel are madewith tapers et, t0 correspond with the inclines 3, so that, when thesebody members 5, are drawn together, powerful wedg ing action is producedwhich forces the wheel rim l, outwards into iirm binding con tact withthe band 6, ot the tyre.

This drawing-in ot the parts 5, ot' the body ot the wheel is preferablyetieoted, as shown, by bolting devices made in two parts one, (the part7) having` a stem externally screwed, the other (the part 8) being' acorresponding i'langed thimble nut, so that, when these parts Z and 8are screwed together, the cylindrical portion et the part 8, willeilectually cover the screwed portion of the other part 7, and preventdamage, or binding` through rust, or the like, as the cylindricalportion can, it desired, contain lubricant, such, igor example, asvaseline.

The inner periphery of the wheel rim l,

may be formed with an inwardly proj ectinp;

Hanne, or web, 9, to come between the parts of the body members 5, oithe wheel.

To prevent practically all possibility of the shitting ot the tyrelaterally the inner periphery otl its band 6, and the outer peripheryott the wheel rim l, may he conoaved and convened respectively, as shownin Fig ure 3, or these parts may be otherwise formed, or provided withmeans, to prevent sideway movements. 'For eXample:- li"igurot shows theband 6, of the tyre conveiled and the rim l, conoaved, Figure 5, showsthe band 6, and rim l, secured in position laterally by a wire ring l0,enteringa recess in both. Figures G and 'l' shew the band G, of the tyrereceived between upstanding parts ln on the rim l, the band in Figure 6,coming entirely between these upstanding parts, whilst in F igure 7, itis termed to extend up to, and be flush with, the sides of the rim l, otthe wheel. Figure 8 shews an arrangement similar to F igurc l', but withthe engaging projection and recesses reversed. ln all cases the tyresmay be of any suitable description whether solid, pneumatic, or metal,or ot various materials combined in any suitable manner.

lt will be understood that, although T have described my invention asapplied in such a way that the wedging action takes place by inwardmovement ot the parts lwhich exert the wedrging action, the inclines canbe `reversed so that the wedpging' action is obtained by outwardmovement ot the wedging parts. Such an arrangement is illus trated inFigure 9, where the inner periphery of the split rim 1, of the wheel ismade with inclines which are inclined reversely to those shewn in Figurel, and the tapers on the peripheral parts of the members 5, arecorrespondingly tapered, the said members 5, being forced away from eachother for fixing the tyre in place, which forcing away may be done inany suitable way, such, for example, as by right, and left handed screwsworking in corresponding nuts in the respective body members 5 of thewheel, one such screw and a pair of nuts being shewn at ll.

It will be evident that, by reversing the movement of the screws in thearrangement Figures l and 2 and Figure 9, the circumference of the wheelrim will be reduced and the tyre can be readily removed.

If desired, in order to prevent corrosion,V

or rusting, of the parts interfering with their proper operation, I mayuse liners, of material which will withstand corrosion or rusting,between the parts which come in Contact and move relatively to eachother when securing and releasing the tyre, or I may coat such partswith non-corrosive, or anti-rusting, material; for instance, I maygalvanize them, or sherardize them, or electro-deposit. copper uponthem.

l/Vhat I claim is y l. A vehicle wheel comprising a tyre having a rigidannulus, a wheel rim transversely V,divided-to .render it expansible andlying within the tyre annulus, `in combination with opposed disc-likebody members for the wheel independent of the rim and.

Ahaving' offsetA peripheral flanges bearing against the inner surface ofthe rim and means forcing said flanges of the wheel body membersagainstthe rim with a wedging action to expand the rim against the tyrewith a firm binding Contact, substantially as described.

2. A vehicle wheel comprising a tyre having a rigid annulus, a wheel rimtransversely divided to render it expansible and lying within the tyreannulus, in combination with opposed disc-like body members for thewheel independent of the rim and having offset peripheral flanges withtaper surfaces bearing against the inner surface of the rim and meansfor forcing said flanges of the wheel body members against the rim witha wedging action to expand the rim against the tyre with a firm bindingcontact, substantially as described.

3. A vehicle wheel comprising a tyre having a rigid annulus, a wheel rimtransversely divided to render it expansible and lying within the tyreannulus, said rim havinga central inwardly projecting iin, incoinbination with disc-like body members for the wheel lying on oppositesides of said fin, and independent of' the rim and having offsetperipheral flanges bearing against the inner periphery of the rim,together with screw means engaging said body members adjacent saidflanges and serving to displace the latter against the rim with awedging action to expand the rim against the tyre annulus with a firmbinding` engagement, substantially as described.

4. A vehicle wheel comprising a tyre having a rigid annulus, a wheel rimtransversely divided to render it expansible and lying within the tyreannulns`r said rim having a central inwardly proj eeting iin.y incombination with disc-like body members for the wheel lying on oppositesides of said fin, and independent of thel rim and having' offsetperipheral flanges with taper surfaces bearing against the innerperiphery of the rim, together with screw means engaging said bodymembers adjacent said flanges and serving to displace the latter againstthe rim with a .wedging action to expand the rim against the tyreannulus with a firm binding engagement, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed mj.' name to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing` witnesses.

ROBERT THOMAS SMITH.

TWitnesses IVILLIAM PARSONS, FRED SHELLEY.

